The sauna, a place of warmth, relaxation and so strongly associated with wellness. It is nothing new for our Scandinavian friends, in particular the Fins. It is so engrained in their history and culture that, as Katherine May points out in her beautiful book ‘Wintering’, to be ‘in sauna’ is how many Fin’s refer to the practice - ‘it is a state of being’.
Saunas date back to 700BC and the practice hasn’t gone out of fashion. If anything the ritual is growing in popularity. The process of warming up in a hot wooden box as an escape and retreat from the cold winter air, then plunging oneself into cold water or powdery snow is energising and invigorating - and the warming back up part is a joy too!
The health and wellness benefits that saunas are claimed to have include improved stress levels, healthier skin and hair and improved pain in achey joints. While scientific studies to back this up are limited, thousands of years of the ritual testify to this, and these testimonies are only going up in number.
We can’t help but notice that over the last few years as outdoor swimming, and in particular cold water swimming, has grown in popularity, the number of pop up saunas populating the UK has also grown! We love how much more accessible this ritual is becoming and it goes perfectly hand in hand with the benefits cold water swimming bring - and we do love getting toasty warm afterwards!
Here are a few pop-up saunas on our radar:
- Wild Water Sauna - Pembrokeshire’s luxury wood fired mobile sauna (https://wildwatersauna.com/)
- Y Sawna - Mobile sauna in the Bannau Brycheiniog/Brecon Beacons and its surrounding areas (https://www.hutbuilder.co.uk/y-sawna)
- Kiln Sauna - Pop up sauna at Kiln Quay in Cornwall (https://www.kilnsauna.com/)
- Seasside Sauna Haus - Woodfired sauna on the beautiful Seatown seafront in Dorset (https://www.seasidesaunahaus.co.uk/)
- Beach Box Sauna Spa - the first UK pop up sauna that was on our radar, set in lovely Brighton (https://beachboxspa.co.uk/)
- Sauna Box - Mobile sauna travelling along the Norfolk and Sussex coast (https://www.saunabox.co.uk/)
- Wild Scottish Sauna - set on Kingsbarns Beach in beautiful St Andrews (https://wildscottishsauna.com/)
- Saltbox Sauna - the first mobile sauna in the Outer Hebrides - it doesn’t get more stunning than that! (https://saltboxsauna.co.uk/)
(Wilda is not affiliated with any of the saunas listed above. Remember to check for the risks of using a sauna if it is your first time and you have a pre-existing health condition or are pregnant)
